Albany Devils hit the road short-handed

ALBANY >> Even as their top forward line shouldered much of the load, and before losing three of their top offensive weapons, the Albany Devils knew theirs was going to be an offense by committee.

They saw how it worked in wins over Wilkes-Barre/Scranton on Nov. 8 and Bridgport on Monday, getting at least a point from 15 of 19 skaters in the two games, and a rude reminder of how it didn’t in a shutout loss to Adirondack on Nov. 9.

“We should feel better about ourselves,” coach Rick Kowalsky said. “The Wilkes-Barre game was a bit of an emotional roller coaster. Saturday we didn’t have enough, and Monday we did what we wanted to do. The message is we need to have everybody involved, and I think Monday was a good indication of how we need to have everybody going.”

Winners of two of its past three games following a four-game losing streak, Albany (7-6-0-1) plays at Hartford tonight and in Syracuse on Saturday.

The Wolf Pack are winless in four games while the first-place Crunch have won three straight and nine of 13 to open the season.

“Hartford is licking their wounds after two tough losses in Providence, so they’re going to be hungry for a win,” Kowalsky said. “Both buildings are always tough to play in. It’s going to be a good challenge for us.”

The Devils remain without center Scott Timmins, their co-leading scorer and one-third of the top line with Joe Whitney and Reid Boucher. Whitney is now joined by alternate captain Tim Sestito and Rostislav Olesz, a recent arrival from New Jersey.

Also missing are Albany’s top two offensive defensemen, Eric Gelinas and rookie Jon Merrill, both on recall to the NHL Devils.

“There are a lot of good things in our game,” forward Harri Pesonen said. “I feel pretty confident. Althought we don’t have that many wins, there are a lot of good individuals here and two good goalies. We just have to keep our heads up and be in a good mood and be positive.”

While Olesz has helped fill the void left by Timmins, out indefinitely with a lower body injury, Kowalsky is looking for his entire defensive unit to pick up the slack in the absence of Merrill and Gelinas. With them gone, fourth-year pro Dan Kelly is the only remaining defenseman on the roster with a goal, netting his first against Bridgeport.

Raman Hrabarenka, Reece Scarlett, Brandon Burlon and Seth Helgeson each have two assists, while Corbin McPherson has one. Both of Hrabarenka’s helpers came against Bridgeport, his third game since being recalled from ECHL Elmira.

“Of course, if you have the chance to have to take off and go to the net,” Hrabarenka said. “But first, everybody has to play good defense and the forwards can score the goals.”

Scarlett, a rookie, had back-to-back 49-point seasons in junior. Burlon had 17 points (1-16) in limited duty last year for Albany, while neither Helgeson (Minnesota) nor McPherson (Colgate) had more than 14 points in their best NCAA season.

“You look at Scarly; he’s getting better every night and getting more confident with the puck,” Pesonen said. “Guys go up. It’s another man’s opportunity. You have to use it and enjoy the ice time you get. I’m not too worried. Of course, you can’t deny that [Gelinas and Merrill] are two good players. Both guys can skate and make good plays with the puck. We miss them and want them back here, but we can’t do anything about it. We just have to figure it out with this group. I’m confident.”

Kowalsky wants his defensemen to think more offensively, but not at the expense of their primary responsibility to prevent goals.

“If there’s an opportunity to get involved in the rush on the weak side, if our forwards are skating and they’re going to push their ‘D’ back, at the very least you challenge their forwards to backcheck harder than they need to,” he said. “So many teams protect the middle of the ice low, so your ‘D’ are going to get a lot of pucks. It’s how they handle them and what they do with the puck to generate more chances and, potentially, goals. There’s no question we’re going to have to get some offense from the back end.”

Notes

Albany continues to lead the AHL in fewest shots allowed per game (24.91), and ranks eighth overall in goals allowed (2.71) … The Devils have yet to lose this season when leading after one (4-0) and two (7-0) periods, and are 6-1 when scoring first … Albany has played a pair 0f 4-3 games with Hartford this season, losing on the road Oct. 6 and winning at home Oct. 25 … Syracuse beat the Devils in their only meeting, 4-1, in Albany on Oct. 30.